Forever and Always
by Lotr-fangirl-nerd
Summary: Legolas and his fiance Calathiel spend a day in a village on the outskirts of Gondor. Lots of fluff and romance are included, with just a hint of angst, so I rated it K just to be safe. This is the first story in a series that I am writing called Life in Ithilien. I hope you guys enjoy!


It had been a beautiful day so far for both Legolas and Calathiel. They had stopped at a small village near the brilliant city of Gondor, reveling in the sights of the town and people around them. Calathiel had been awed at everything that she had seen, talking to random strangers while her betrothed looked on in amusement. Currently, she was trying on a beaded shell necklace while the young woman behind the cart was speaking to her of its origins. She turned to Legolas as he came up behind her, beaming excitedly.

"Legolas, look! It's shells from Lindon," she exclaimed, her gaze seeming far away as her mind raced back to the brief glimpses of her childhood. The elf prince smiled, a brief look of sadness flashing across his features before he nodded.

"Yes, they are. They look beautiful on you," he remarked, and Calathiel smiled bashfully.

"Well, thank you. I just...they reminded me of..." She couldn't finish the sentence. As she looked away, Legolas knew what she was feeling. Throughout most of her life, she had been living a shell of what she was supposed to be, seeing life through the eyes of a woman who was still grieving the loss of her parents. Lord Elrond had been the one that had raised her to become the _elleth_ she was now, but she still missed her family more than anything. For his wedding gift to her, he wanted to take her to Valinor to see her family again, but he had no idea whether she wished to go. It was her choice and her ultimate decision. If she desired to, he would travel with her in a heartbeat, but he also would stay with her here in Middle Earth if she thought it was the best. Watching her now, as she held up the jewelry with tears in her eyes, he had an inkling of what she was thinking. She looked at him again.

"Legolas, can I…?" the question went unspoken, but he knew exactly what she was trying to say.

"Of course. It suits you," he answered softly, and she smiled again.

"Thank you," was all she managed to say as he bought the necklace from the woman. He handed her 10 gold coins, to which the woman swiftly shook her head, trying to swat his hands away.

"No! That is too much," she responded, but he placed the money in her palm despite her protest.

"You will need it," is all he said as he glanced back at the three small children huddled behind her. The youngest of them, a girl with a ragged navy dress, came up to Calathiel slowly and tugged on the hem of her dress. Calathiel bent down at eye level with the child, noting the amazed expression that crossed her innocent features.

"Are...are you an' elf?" she asked timidly, and the princess nodded.  
"Yes, I am. My name is Calathiel. What is yours?' she asked the child kindly, and the girl blushed. Smiling shyly, the child mumbled, "Haleth."

The princess perked up at the name, and she grinned.

"That is a very beautiful name. Did you know that Haleth was once the name of a strong warrior queen? Her name is praised in all tongues," Calathiel told Haleth, and the girl's deep brown eyes widened.

"Really? My ma said that but I didn't know if it was true or not," she replied, her eyes still sparkling with questions, and Calathiel nodded.

"It is. And I believe that one day you will also be great," she smiled as Haleth opened her mouth in shock.

"Ya really think so?"

"I know so," Calathiel reaffirmed, watching as Haleth's face beamed with joy.

"Woah...tha's cool," she whispered, mostly to herself as she looked down to her feet. Legolas cleared his throat behind the child, trying to get his fiance's attention, but also managing to startle Haleth senseless in the process. The girl whirled around, her eyes widening again as she looked up at the looming figure of the woodland prince.

"He's TALL," Haleth breathed, looking over at Calathiel who laughed softly as she stood up.

"That was one of the first things I noticed about him. Save for his hair," She joked as Legolas scrunched up his face in protest.

"That is not true! You told me you liked my charm," he tried to say, but the two girls only looked at one another and snorted. Haleth pointed at Legolas, too shy to ask him his name. Calathiel told her, and she blinked up at him again.

"Mis'er Leglas, do ya love her?"

The question took the couple by surprise. Legolas was the first to respond.

"Absolutely. I have loved her since I first saw her."

Calathiel felt her cheeks redden as he said those words, his gaze seeming to reach into her soul and fill it with a light that had been dimmed for so long.

"Are you gonna marry her?"

Legolas smiled.

"Yes. At least, I plan to, if she will still have me," he added quickly, looking at Calathiel worriedly. She giggled, shaking her head.

"Don't worry, Legolas. If I did not wish to marry you, I would have said no a while ago," she affirmed, watching as Haleth smirked at them. The vendor woman called back to her then, and the girl looked back forlornly at the elven couple. Calathiel knew what she wanted to do, and held out her arms as the child wrapped her small arms around her waist.

"Will I see ya again?" she asked, her voice laced with tears as she pulled away reluctantly.

"Yes. I will come and see you as quickly as I am able to," she told Haleth, noting the way the girl grinned.

"Bye mis'er Leglas. Ya better take good care of her. If ya don't…" she let the sentence hang threateningly. There was great amusement barely hidden in his gaze as he nodded solemnly.

"I will. Do not worry," he agreed, watching as she ran off in the direction of her mother. Exploring the rest of the village did not take long, save for when Legolas saw a stand with carved bows and newly fletched arrows and seemed to disappear into thin air. She laughed as he talked with the man behind the counter excitedly, looking over at a bow that had elegantly carved designs on the wood. Apparently, the wood was rare, and he had been looking for bows made from it for quite a while, though he never mentioned it to Calathiel once.

"I was worried you would think it was not worth your time," he said after she asked him why he had kept the gift idea from her. Calathiel shook her head.

"I would have been glad to get it for you had I known you were interested in it," she told him, and he smiled at her.

"How much?" she inquired as she shuffled through her bag. The vendor told her, and Legolas put his hands out to stop her.

"No, Calathiel, please. You already have enough on your plate as it is, with wedding preparations and all," he pleaded, but she paid her betrothed no mind as she paid the vendor for both the bow and the quiver full of arrows.

"Think of it as my wedding gift to you," she responded as she handed him the set. The man at the stand gasped.

"You two are gettin' hitched? Well, as my gift to ya, I'll give ya another one of these sets. It's all on me," he insisted as Legolas tried to protest.

"Thank you," the prince breathed in wonder as he looked down at the new bows.

"Yer welcome. It's the least I could do since both of ya are so kind."

Saying goodbye to the vendor, Calathiel snuck in a few extra pieces of gold for the man as they left.

"Oh, nah miss, I couldn't accept that," he began, but the princess shook her head.

"It is for you. You may need it in the future," she insisted, and the man beamed.

"Well, the missus _was_ sayin' she wanted a new dress...thank ya miss. I will not forget your kindness to me," he replied as she smiled.

"You are welcome. Have a good day," she said as she walked back to where Legolas was currently stringing one of his bows.

"Did you do what I think you did?" he prodded as she looked away bashfully.

"I was merely repaying him for his generosity. Is that a bad thing?" she asked innocently, pretending to walk back to the stand. Legolas stopped her, laughing as he did so. Pulling her to his chest, he kissed her softly.

"Other men must be so jealous of me," he whispered to her as they stood together in the street.

"Why?" she inquired as she glanced up at him.

"Because I am getting married to the most wonderful elleth in all of Arda," he exclaimed quietly, looking down at her with such love in his light blue gaze that she was at a loss for words.

She was the one who kissed him this time, letting the kiss linger for longer than what was necessary before pulling away. Legolas, the proud and mighty elf prince who had faced a Balrog in the Mines of Moria, was left breathless as he stared after the woman whom he loved. As she turned to him, her long dark brown hair fluttering in the breeze and her light silver eyes shining with mirth, he thanked the Valar for connecting their souls to one another. If she were to be fated with anyone else, he would not know how to live. Walking up to her, he ran his fingers through her hair as she sighed and pressed her head to his. They stood there for what seemed like ages, breathing in the calm air around them as if for the first time. When the world grew darker, they walked to the local inn, ordering rooms for the night. Standing outside of her room, Calathiel held Legolas close to her, not wanting to leave him.

"I keep thinking to the day we met," she said softly, hearing him laugh in reply.

"If I remember correctly, you hated the very sight of me."

Calathiel smirked.

"I did. I had heard stories of the Silvan elves from my father and heard of how terrible your father was when he met mine. I did not wish to meet one of his own kin, who was sure to be just as his _Adar _was," I chuckled, reminiscing on the olden days.

"I was also not too keen on meeting you. I had a lie in my head then that all Noldor women were arrogant and prideful, and upon seeing you for the first time all of those doubts flew away. I knew right then that I would marry you one day," Legolas affirmed, and Calathiel raised her eyebrows.

"Alright, _maybe_ it was later when I concluded that thought. But I still knew that you would change my life," he concluded, and Calathiel grinned.

"For better or worse, that has yet to be seen," she smirked as Legolas rolled his eyes playfully.

As she glanced up at the _Ellon _that was soon to be her husband in a few short weeks, she smiled.

"What is it, _meleth nin_?" Legolas inquired, and Calathiel shrugged.

"I was just thinking about our lives. Of how far we have come together," she sighed wistfully, interlocking her hands with his.

"You were the one who has kept me alive all these years. If it had not been for you, I would not have made it out of Helm's Deep in one piece," He joked lightly, and she poked him in the side.

"You have your own stubbornness to thank for that. If you had not been so reckless, I would not have had to save you," she pointed out, and he blushed.

"Okay, I see your point. But what about that time when…" The rest of his sentence was cut off as Calathiel silenced him with a kiss.

"That is _not _fair," he grumbled as she pecked him on the cheek.

"Oh, I think it is. It shut up your blabbering, at least," she said joyfully as he crossed his arms.

"My what now? Is that what you think of me?" he teased, and she laughed as he ruffled her hair.

"Oh, stop it," she giggled as she punched him in the arm lightly. He grimaced in mock pain as he held his "wounded" limb.

"That hurt," he whimpered, a chuckle sounding from his mouth in the process, and Calathiel stuck out her tongue. Just as she was about to speak again, Calathiel tried to stifle a yawn with her hands, and Legolas snorted.

"I believe it may be time for you to go to sleep," he told her, to which she nodded.

"Yes, I think it is. Thank you, for today," she whispered, and he nodded.

"Anytime. Now, get some rest. We have a long ride tomorrow," he replied as he urged her inside her room. She went inside and shut her door, hearing his soft footsteps fade away as she sighed blissfully.

"Three more weeks," she whispered to herself as she buried herself underneath the soft blankets, falling asleep to the sounds of the crickets outside her window.

…

The next morning the couple set off for Gondor again, with revived energies and several new gifts to keep them happy. Before they left the village, Calathiel rode up next to Legolas, clasping her hand in his.

"Remember what we said that morning before the battle?" She asked him, and he nodded, knowing immediately what she was referring to. The morning before the final war with Sauron, Calathiel had walked up to him in the midst of the hoard of soldiers around them with a flower she had found from the field the day before. It had grown out of the ashes of the ground around it and had flourished despite the odds against its survival.

"No matter what may happen, there will always be hope. We must never lose it, for if we do, there will be no reason for this war," Legolas repeated the words that they had said that fateful day one year ago today. In Gondor, they would celebrate the victory that they had had over the dominion of the Dark Lord, along with Rohan and several other cities. It would be a celebration unlike any other for it would last a whole month, and would be filled with singing and dancing until the late hours of the night.

"And I can still recall the words I told you when you doubted if we would ever make it back home," Calathiel stated as she mounted her horse alongside his.

"I will be with you. No matter how long the days seem to be, I will never leave you. I will love you until the age of Arda has ended, and for all the ages that come after. Forever and always, I will love you," She recalled as she remembered the way he had held her the night before the battle began. Back then, they had no idea if they would ever return to their families, and the homes they had cherished so deeply. Now, their hearts were full, and they knew that their lives would be filled with joy forever. As the two elves made their way to the city to celebrate with their new friends, they looked towards each other as the first rays of sunlight stretched over the horizon.

"I love you," Legolas sighed as he clasped hands with the woman who had been his hope for years. Calathiel smiled softy.

"I love you too. Forever and always," she replied, inexpressible joy in her face as she looked on towards the start of a new day.

"Race you to Gondor?" She asked as they made their way down the valley. Legolas smirked.

"Are you sure about that? I beat you last time," he joked as Calathiel rolled her eyes.

"I am sure. I was...distracted that day," she hesitated, remembering that she had been too caught up in staring at Legolas's face that she had been thrown from her horse.

Legolas only raised an eyebrow, shaking his head with a laugh before he galloped off in the direction of the White City, leaving his betrothed in the dust.

"Okay, hold on! That is not fair!" she shouted after him, spurring her mare to race after him.

As the two elves ran across the fields, birds started to sing in the trees, signifying the beginning of a new age in Arda. The sound of their bright laughter rang throughout the valleys, showing the world that hope had indeed come back into the hearts of the people of Middle Earth. No longer would the world be covered in shadow. Joy would shine out amongst the young and old alike, illuminating the earth in light once again.


End file.
